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IMPROVEMENT IN TRUNKS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S, RITTER, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new Improvement in the Manufacture of Trunks, Valises,.&c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of'the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the iron frame used in my manufacture.

Figure -2 is a perspective view of my trunk; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the clamp D e ee.

The object of this invention is to manufacture a substantial leather trunk, which shall have no seams at the edges, and which may be made entirely without stitching, for the purpose of economy, strength, and durability.

I Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

To accomplish this object, I first construct a strong iron frame, represented in fig. 1, in which A is the top part of the frame, and B the bottom part, theformer to support the covering materials of the lid, the latter those of the body of the trunk. These parts of the frame are then placed in position, and united by the hinges 7t 7a. The corners of the frame, around the ends of the trunk, are made of angular iron strips or plates, 0; a, punctured along their edges with rivet holes. This frame, having thus been prepared, I place within it a temporary frame of boards or pieces of wood, to support the pasteboard and leather between the various parts of the iron frame while the trunk is making, and keep them in proper shape. I then close the trunk and fasten it together, after which I cover it with the requisite thickness of pasteboard, and unite and attach this in the usual way. When this has been done, I prepare a. broad strip of leather, 0, long enough to pass entirely around the trunk, and wide enough to extend from within about one inch of one end of the trunk to the same distance from the other end. This piece of leather I fasten over the pasteboard in such a manner that the edges shall come at the opening of the trunk in front, and the ends shall be equidistant from the ends of the trunk, as shown in the drawings. I do not at present fasten down the edges of this piece, but leave that to be done after the end pieces have been put on. I then take two pieces of leather, E E, of the proper shape, and place them in the clamp, shown in fig. 3, their edges projc'cting over the edges of the centre pice D of the clamp, equally on every side. I then screw the outside pieces 2 e c e of the clamp so closely together that if the frame thus made by them be placed over the leather and forced down upon it, the latter will be clamped into the proper shape to be used for end pieces of the trunk. Having thus prepared them, I put one of these pieces E E upon each end of the trunk, its bent-up flanges passing over the corners of the trunk, and being inserted all around under the edges of the piece C,whic h were left loose for that purpose. I glue the end pieces on in this position, and glue the edges 0 c of the piece 0 down upon them. The end pieces are now entire, and the trunk cannot be opened. The next step in the process is to cut the end pieces along the line 0 o, to separate the lid from the body of the trunk, and enable the trunk to be opened. When this has been done, the trunk is opened, the wooden frame taken out, and the leather and pasteboard covering of both lid and body of the trunk firmly and thoroughly fastened to the iron frame by the rows of rivets 1'1 1. A long, narrow strip or screen, as, is then riveted t0 the lower edge of lid, to cover the edges where they meet. The trunk is then lined, and the lock, straps,&c., &c., attached, and it is ready for use. i

It is'obvious that, if desired, atrunk or valise may be made in this way without the necessity of taking a single stitch in any part of it, thereby securing a great reduction in the expense of manufacture. The whole method of construction is exceedingly simple and cheap, requiring no cutting of the leather to Waste, and economizing every part of the material. The great advantage of this trunk over all others, however, lies in its exceeding durability. Not a single seam of any kind, inside or out, comes at the angles of the trunk, but alongevery edge is the smooth leather, of any desired thickness, which will wear a lifetime without breaking. The use of the leather cover is not for show but for durability, and this particular method of construction enables the maker to use sole-leather for the whole covering, and yet to avoid scams at 'the angles; while producing a smooth and beautiful covering for the trunk.

If deemed best, the pasteboard used on the ends of the trunk can be clamped into shape and placed in position in the same manner as the leather is afterwards. The end pieces E E may be first put on, and afterwards the middle piece 0, if preferred, instead of the method above describedof attaching the middle piece first.

In making valise's, the iron frame may be dispensed with, and the body and cover formed over'the wooden frame and afterwards riveted, the middle piece and end pieces 0tv the covering being put on'in the manner described. 7

Having-thus described my invention, I do not claim as new the use of the iron frame above described, nor' the use of the middle piece 0 of the cover alone; but my invention is limited to the construction and applica tion of the end pieces E151, and the general process of putting the trunk or valise together; and what I claim in particular as new, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent, is-

1. I claim, as an article of manufacture, the trunk above described, having the end pieces E E clamped into the shape described and shown, and attached to the trunk by the rivets r 1' at a distance from the corners or angles of the trunk, so as to leave the latter perfectly smooth, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. I claim the process or method of manufacturing trunks, valises, 860., substantially as above described S. S. BITTER.

Witnesses:

L; HILL, N. K. Ettswon'rn. 

